Wambach not looking beyond Sunday's final

United States striker Abby Wambach will definitely play her final World Cup game in Sunday's final against Japan but on Friday would not be drawn on her plans for after the tournament.

The 35-year-old forward, who has scored a record 183 goals in 247 international appearances, said at the outset of the tournament that this would be her last World Cup.

Having lost her place in the starting line-up for the quarterfinal, Wambach could start on the bench for the clash with the defending champions at BC Place, where she will be looking to secure a first World Cup winners' medal.

It was expected that Wambach would continue with the national team into the 2016 Olympics in Rio but asked by Reuters if she had plans beyond the World Cup, she said: "All I am thinking about is the 90 minute performance against Japan."

The 2012 Fifa World Player of the Year and twice Olympic champion was, however, willing to talk about what her legacy would be.

"I want to be remembered as an authentic team player," she said. "Whether I was the go-to player, whether I was the rookie, whether I was the kid who couldn't shut up and literally needed to be told to shut up many times by coaches and teammates.

"An Olympic champion who would do anything for anybody, give the shirt off my own back for them and of course, last but not least a World Cup champion. That is what I want my legacy to be."

American players were unstinting in their praise for Wambach during a media session on Friday and coach Jill Ellis paid tribute to the way she had handled being on the bench.

"We had early conversations and from day one, Abby, she wants to win the World Cup and she is committed to doing whatever it takes. She said 'whatever role is needed, I will deliver'," Ellis said.

"She has been exemplary in terms of what she has given to this team and how she has conducted herself."

Captain Carli Lloyd said Wambach had been a "true leader" of the team.

"We wouldn't be where we are without her," she said. "She has been tremendous over the years and I want nothing more than to help her legacy and to win the World Cup."